Those in our culture who reject absolute standards of morality in favor of an ever-evolving ethic dictated by the court of public opinion are forever touting the inevitability of the latest cultural trend. Progressives, as they like to be called, like moral fashion consultants, know what is cool and what is not. In their world, what is fashionable, whether it be clothing or convictions, is always in a state of evolutionary flux.

Take gay marriage, for instance. We are led to believe that the wheels of cultural change are irresistibly set in motion and everything in the path of “progress” will either adapt or be crushed. So traditional marriage, as the recent developments in New York demonstrate, is the fashion equivalent to leisure suits and platform shoes. This mantra is spewed incessantly by the media elite. Those who think differently are merely out of touch with the inevitable flow of progress. So after hours of this media brainwashing, we are forced to conclude that gay-marriage is here to stay. Embrace it. Deal with it.

But this is an absolutely false claim.

Facts can be stubborn things. This new cultural phenomenon called same-sex “marriage” is legal in only six states. In five of those states, gay “marriage” was imposed by the state legislature, and in Iowa by activist judges, several of whom were later thrown out by public recall.

On the other hand, in the 31 states where “we the people” were afforded the chance to weigh in on the issue, gay “marriage,” was soundly defeated! In fact, the Alliance Defense Fund has just released a poll in which 62 percent of Americans believe marriage should be reserved for one man and one woman!

So much for the “myth of inevitability.”

But here’s the real problem. When lies, dressed up in the fashionable clothing of cultural progressiveness, are endlessly repeated, they often become self-fulfilling prophecies. Wickedness is inevitable only when the Church remains silent. In the words of the great statesman, Edmund Burke, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” With God, only one thing is inevitable – the ultimate triumph of Christ and Truth over all counterfeit competitors!

I recently purchased a beautiful hibiscus plant for our patio. It’s dazzling red blooms provide a sort of floral fireworks show all summer long. Unfortunately, this stunning plant will not survive our harsh Hoosier winters. That’s why I kept it in the plastic container when I planted it. When the hostile environment arrives, it will be plucked from sure destruction and placed inside until a new, more agreeable, season arrives.

In many ways, our current economic crisis is a lot like trying to grow tropical plants in Indiana! Our president continually chides the business community for sitting on capital and refusing to hire new people. However, business owners are not idiots. They understand you cannot grow healthy businesses in harsh economic environments. If the government does not change the playing field by creating genuine economic freedom and opportunity, those with the ideas and the capital will never “plant” new businesses or expand existing operations. Like my fragile hibiscus, they’ll uproot and move to an environment more conducive to long term health and vitality.

If the president wants to end the economic recession, he’ll need to change the horrid business environment he has created via bad economic policy. Condsider for instance, the proliferation of regulations, rules, and red tape, all of which impose heavy costs on America. The Heritage Foundation just-released a new study called “Red Tape Rising: A 2011 Mid-Year Report” which goes on to highlight the pervasiveness of government’s intrusive regulatory hand. According to the study:

During its first 26 months—from taking office to mid-FY 2011—the Obama Administration has imposed 75 new major regulations with reported costs to the private sector exceeding $40 billion.

Every government regulation on the free market comes with a price tag. These costs are passed on to the consumer. As a result, “Basic items, such as toilets, showerheads, light bulbs, mattresses, washing machines, dryers, cars, ovens, refrigerators, television sets, and bicycles all cost significantly more because of government decrees on energy use, product labeling, and performance standards that go well beyond safety—as well as hundreds of millions of hours of testing and paperwork to document compliance.”

So what’s the bill for all this ridiculous regulation? Approximately $1.75 trillion a year!

President Obama should realize that just as hibiscus plants won’t survive harsh Midwestern winters, neither will American businesses survive the frigid blasts of an ever-increasing regulatory burden.

It’s time for a change of seasons.

With all the talk of soaking the rich and the wealthy, evil corporations with higher taxes, you may be asking, “Isn’t the Federal Government supposed to be kind of like Robin Hood, taking from the rich and redistributing it in a more balanced and equal way to those less fortunate?

After all, isn’t equality a biblical principle?

I’m going to say something that I believe most of you will find shocking. Here it is: Equality was a founding principle of the godless, French Revolution, but it is not an principle of economics found in the Bible.

God is not concerned with equality, at least not in the way our modern liberals and socialists conceive. He is, however, concerned with justice.

Let me explain the difference. Justice is not based upon the idea of equal income for all, but upon the principle of equal opportunity. In a fallen world, we can work to provide equal opportunity, a balanced playing field for everyone. We cannot, however, guarantee equal outcomes. If you give a thousand people a million dollars and ask them to do something with it, you’ll get 1000 different results. Why? Because equal opportunity never produces equal outcomes in a fallen world. This is a utopian dream!

In a just society, we should all have equal opportunities under the law. The law is meant to be impartial. It applies to everyone the same way. This is why our statue of “lady justice” is blindfolded.

The biblical principle of impartiality is outlined in Leviticus 19:15:

“You shall do no injustice in judging a case; you shall not be partial to the poor or show a preference for the mighty, but in righteousness and according to the merits of the case judge your neighbor.”

Any law that gives an economic advantage to anyone, whether they are rich or poor, violates the biblical principle of justice. When our federal government taxes the wealthy at a higher rate than the rest of us they are guilty of violating the law of impartiality under the law.

Author Cal Beisner wrote, “All men have different gifts, talents, interests, and abilities. Left free, they will exercise those in different ways and will produce different fruits. The only way to arrive at equal fruits is to equalize behavior; and that requires robbing men of liberty, making them slaves.”

The government has no authority to steal through unjust taxation that which others have legally aquired through the free exchange of goods and services. To punish the hard work and economic success of our citizens under the ruse of “economic equality” or compassion for the poor is absolutely wicked and immoral.

Aristotle once wisely observed, “If you want to encourage something, reward it. If you want to discourage it, punish it.”
It’s time our federal government stops punishing the very ones who have both the capital and the know how to create real jobs and real opportunities for those less fortunate.